Drink mixer bottle and agitator

ABSTRACT

An agitator is for use in a shaker. The agitator comprises a tetrahedral body having four planar faces, four vertices, and six edges, each edge traveling between each of the vertices. Each vertex is rounded off and configured to forcibly contact the container wall and an entirety of the bottom upon shaking the vessel. These rounded vertices create a propeller-like spinning and tumbling motion through the liquid-powder mixture when the vessel is vigorously shaken up and down, and scalloped edges of the agitator produce additional turbulence to efficiently blend a liquid/powder mixture.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The instant application is a divisional application of application Ser.No. 14/184,773, filed Feb. 20, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,301,648, whichclaimed benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/767,775, filedFeb. 21, 2013, the contents of both which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

Drinking vessels with independent agitators have been designed formixing powdered solids, such as protein powders or diet supplements,with liquids. Typically, these designs and methods are used in thepreparation of consumable liquids formulated to support health orenhance athletic performance The powders/solids are typically placedinside the bottle or other drinking vessel with a liquid (often milk,water, or other consumable substance) and the bottle or other vessel isshaken. The agitator assists in evenly dispersing and blending the solidparticles with the liquid.

However, because many agitators are insufficiently massive and/orsub-optimally shaped, the powdered solids will clump, float on thesurface, adhere to the walls, or remain on the bottom of the vesselinstead of being dispersed and evenly blended. The mass of the agitatoris often not adequate to allow it to travel effectively through theliquid solution/suspension to produce a homogenous blending of thepowder—a desired property of powder-containing drinking vessels asopposed to aerosol cans which may only require small agitators mixingliquids and only small particulates. Agitators currently used for mixingconsumable liquids are often formed of bent wire or molded plastic andhave surfaces that can retain particles and powder clumps and can bedifficult to clean. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,032 shows awire-frame, flow-through agitator. See also U.S. D664,392 teaching amixing element of the wire-type, formed conically. In some cases, theagitator element is integrated into the bottle design and thus furthercomplicates cleaning. See U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,941 describing a shakerwith attached, reciprocating agitator.

Additionally, the irregular forms of current agitators often preventthem from being placed easily on a surface for cleaning/drying, as aresult rolling across or falling off of a table or the cleaning surface.Current methods for mixing consumable liquids, moreover, do not featurevessels whose specific interior surface features work with the agitatorin a complementary fashion to blend the liquid and powder. As a result,the interaction of the agitator, liquid-powder mix and the innersurfaces of the drinking vessel is not optimized for producing ahomogeneous mixture. In addition, the interior surfaces of currentdrinking vessels are often difficult to clean, particularly the bottomedge between the inner base plane and the walls, due to the creation ofa small surface by the sharp angle here where debris can be lodged ortrapped.

There is a need then for a combination agitator and drinking vessel thatadequately blends powdered consumables using optimally sized and shapedcomponents as further described.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the instant invention to provide a combinationagitator and drinking vessel which mixes a powder with a liquid to forma homogeneous consumable.

It is further an objective to provide the combination agitator anddrinking vessel which mixes the powder with the liquid to form theconsumable quickly.

It is further an objective to provide the combination agitator anddrinking vessel which mixes the powder with the liquid to a high degreeof dissolution.

It is further an objective to provide the combination agitator anddrinking vessel which is easy to clean.

It is further an objective to provide an optimally shaped agitator foraccomplishing the above.

It is further an objective to provide an optimally-shaped drinkingvessel for accomplishing the above.

Accordingly, comprehended is a shaker including a vessel and anagitator. The vessel includes a container wall. A rounded bottom closesoff the container wall, wherein a border of the bottom is formedradially towards a center axis of the vessel such that the bottomtransitions from the container wall to be outwardly domed. An agitatoris for use in combination with the vessel, the agitator furthercomprising a tetrahedral body having four planar faces, four vertices,and six edges, each edge traveling between each of the vertices. Eachvertex is rounded off and configured to forcibly contact the containerwall and an entirety of the bottom upon shaking the vessel.

The vessel includes an outer sleeve connected around the bottomextending from a lower portion and encircling the bottom at an acuteangle with the border of the bottom to extend downward from the lowerportion and extend past the rounded bottom such that said vessel can besituated upright on a surface.

The agitator is regularly symmetrical and includes rounded off edges andvertices to create swirling effects within the liquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the instant drinking vessel.

FIG. 1a shows a bottom view of the instant drinking vessel.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the drinking vessel.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of section A-A of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a lid.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the instant agitator.

FIG. 6 shows an additional perspective view of the agitator.

FIG. 7 shows a side view and diagrammatic illustration of the agitatorwithin the drinking vessel and spinning therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference then to FIGS. 1-7, shown is a vessel 1, agitator 17, andthe combination thereof defined as a shaker (see FIG. 7) adapted toblend a liquid such as water with a consumable powder such as a proteinpowder by hand-shaking. The drinking vessel 1 may vary in size,proportion, and material. Although not limited hereto, one example is avessel 1 being twenty-eight (28) ounces, 8.75 inches in height and 3.75inches wide at its widest point. Vessel 1 is typically made of asemi-rigid composite such as plastic. Agitator 17 herein is preferablymade of a similar material such as food-grade plastic and can also bemade of a dense and solid food-grade silicone or the combination thereofbeing a silicone-coated plastic. In one embodiment, the agitator 17 issemi-hollow and can contain a water or liquid-filled plastic part thatwould allow the user to freeze it and use it as a cooling element forwithin the vessel 1.

Shown by FIGS. 1-4 is the vessel 1 including lid 11. Vessel 1 includes acontainer wall 2. Although the shape of the container wall 2 may varyand thus the shape of the vessel 1, shown here as the preferredembodiment is a generally cylindrical container wall 2. Grip recesses 3are indentations defined along the container wall 2 which are utilizedto facilitate grasping and shaking of the vessel 1. A top 6 is integralto the container wall 2 and open to an interior of the vessel 1. Athreaded portion 8 including threads can facilitate the attachment ofany standard screw-on lid 10 with cap 11 and opening 12 as shown by FIG.4 to allow for the release of the liquid as is known in the art. Aflange 9 is formed below the threaded portion encircling the top 6,extending from the container wall 2 on which cap 11 can seat.

In conformance with the preferred shape of container wall 2, a lowerportion 4 tapers downward from the container wall 2 such that thediameter at the lower portion 4 would be less than the diameter of thecontainer wall 2 closer to the top 6. In this manner, lower portion 4can be accommodated within variably sized cup holders of a vehicle forexample. Lower portion 4 also facilitates the attachment of an outersleeve 14, as further described.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-4 and particularly FIG. 3, vessel'slower portion 4 and thus container wall 2 is closed off with bottom 5.The bottom 5 is round, defined by a border 5 a which is formed radiallytowards a center axis (not shown) of the vessel 1 (vertical axis throughinterior) such that the bottom 5 is rounded outward, or outwardly domed,meaning if lower portion 4 terminates at the base plane, defined aswhere bottom 5 begins, the bottom 5 extends away from the base planerather than upward back into the interior of vessel 1.

Encircling outside bottom 5 and connected to the lower portion 4 andthus at base plane is the outer sleeve 14. Outer sleeve 14 is acylindrical ring extending integrally from lower portion 4, slightlyoutward away from center axis such that an acute angle is formed withthe border 5 a of bottom 5 to form a pocket 15, again resulting from thedome-like shape of bottom 5. Outer sleeve 14 provides stability tovessel 1 for storage within receptacles. A flat rim 16 is defined at theedge of outer sleeve 14 to facilitate upright stability on surfaces.

Now referencing FIGS. 5-6, shown is the instant agitator 17. Theagitator 17 is a polyhedral-shaped, preferably solid mass. Moreparticularly the agitator 17 is a generally tetrahedral body 17 a havingfour planar faces 18, four vertices 20, and six edges 19. The shape ofagitator 17 is critical. “Generally” tetrahedral means the agitator 17is regularly symmetrical and similar to a triangular pyramid but forhaving scalloped edges 19 and additionally having rounded-off vertices20 instead of points as shown. Specifically, each edge 19 is scallopedand curves slightly inward toward the geometric center of the body 17 a.“Scalloped” means the edge 19 is not formed as a linear edge, ratheredge 19 is slightly rounded off. Each vertex 20 is uniformly rounded offto transition radially and smoothly into each edge 19. Scalloped edge 19and rounded vertices 20, by their elimination of sharp features, slowsagitator 17 down within a liquid matrix. Whereas sharp features wouldcut through a liquid, the instant edges 19 and vertices 20 aid inchurning the liquid.

Each vertex 20 is formed having a radius which is complementary toradius of the border 5 a of rounded bottom 5 of vessel 1 (FIG. 3). Edge19 is defined by both a transition portion 21 and a medial portion 22.Transition portion 21 is the finished area on edge 19 extending fromvertex 20. Each transition portion 21 terminates at the medial portion22. Medial portion 22 is defined along the edge medially along each edgesandwiched by each transition portion 21. Medial portion 22 is flattenedslightly to define an oval-like cut-out as shown. If agitator 17 wereentirely smooth with no un-scalloped edges, agitator 17 could travelthrough the liquid matrix too fast, hence the definition of the medialportion 22 where each transition portion 21 terminates. Medial portion22 therefore, by its inclusion of a linearly-edged perimeter, createsmore chaos to break up the flow of the liquid but not so much turbulencethat it offsets the speed of the agitator 17 generated by the scallopededges 19 and vertices 20.

Referencing now FIG. 7, shown is the combination of the vessel 1 havingtherein the agitator 17, the combination of which is defined herein asshaker. The present invention relates to an improved system and methodfeaturing the drinking vessel-agitator for uniform blending ofliquid/powder mixtures. During shaking, the agitator 17 willcontinuously and randomly collide with the container wall 2 and bottom5. The shape of the agitator 17 and drinking vessel 1 are central to theeffectiveness of the system and method. The agitator 17, which isunattached to the vessel 1, may be of variable proportion and materialas above, including any material that will withstand repeated collisionswith the vessel walls, but it should be large enough that it does notpresent a choking hazard, and its form must consist of roundedprojections with scalloped edges. Its mass must also be sufficient forthese rounded projections to create a propeller-like spinning andtumbling motion through the liquid-powder mixture when the vessel 1 isvigorously shaken up and down. The agitator's spinning motion dispersesany powder or other solid particles contained in the vessel through itsliquid contents in an optimally uniform fashion because the circularbase plane promotes swirling of the liquid, and the curved slope (border5 a) between the base plane and the walls allows the agitator to makecontact with the powder at the bottom of the vessel. The rounded bottom5 then allows the agitator 17 to efficiently “back up” as the shakingprocess continues to result in multiple, rhythmic collisions. The resultof the interaction between a thusly-shaped agitator, thusly-shapedvessel, and liquid/powder mixture, when the vessel is shaken, is anoptimally consistent liquid/powder mixture.

We claim:
 1. An agitator, comprising: a generally tetrahedral bodyhaving four planar faces, four vertices, and six edges, each said edgetraveling between each of said vertices; and, wherein each said edge isscalloped and curves inward toward a geometric center of said body; and,each said vertex is rounded off, and each said vertex transitions intoeach of said edges and each of said planar faces to define a transitionportion between each of said edges.
 2. The agitator of claim 1, furthercomprising a medial portion defined along each said edge definedmedially along each said edge, said medial portion flattened to definean oval-like cut-out along each said edge.
 3. The agitator of claim 1,wherein said tetrahedral body is a solid mass.
 4. The agitator of claim3, wherein said tetrahedral body is food-grade silicon.
 5. The agitatorof claim 1, wherein said tetrahedral body is food-grade plastic.
 6. Theagitator of claim 1, wherein said tetrahedral body is partially hollowsuch that said tetrahedral body can be water or liquid-filled.